Overview

• Pope Francis will be laid to rest in a simple white marble tomb at Santa Maria Maggiore, fulfilling his wish to be buried outside the Vatican walls.
• A six-kilometer funeral procession through Rome, the first of its kind in over 100 years, will follow the Requiem Mass at St. Peter’s Square.
• Over 150 world leaders and hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to attend, with extensive security measures including airspace restrictions and 10,000 personnel in place.
• The burial ceremony will be private, with the tomb opening to pilgrims on Sunday, featuring only the inscription 'Franciscus' and a replica of his pectoral cross.
• The funeral Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, as the Catholic Church enters the sede vacante ahead of the conclave to elect a new pope.